The Curse of the Egyptian Cat
by Scovall
Summary: A fun piece for Halloween.  Find out what happens when Danny finds himself with a cursed statue that puts the whole team in danger.
1. Chapter 1

_It's October and I'm in a Halloween kind of mood. Most of the story is already finished. I'll post every few days and be done by the 31st._

_This is set sometime during the first season - before the events of the finale._

**_DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters. I do not profit in any way._**

"No Monkey, I'm not at Uncle Steve's house," Detective Danny Williams told his daughter, "I'm watching the game at home."

Danny shifted on his lumpy couch, trying to juggle the phone, the remote, and a nearly full beer bottle.

"Yes, I know that Uncle Steve had a nicer TV," he managed to get the beer bottle down on the end table without spilling it, "Yes, I know his couch is nicer, too."

On his 19" TV, the Yankees were ahead by only one run with the top of the other team's batting order coming up. It didn't matter how close the game was, these nightly phone calls with Grace would always be more important. Besides the game was pre-recorded because the absurd time zone differences made live sports impossible to watch. Reason 87 on Danny's list of reasons to hate living in Hawaii.

On the phone, Grace had finished telling her father about Mr. Hoppy's latest adventures and returned to what seemed to be her favorite subject these days: Uncle Steve.

"No, I'm not mad at him," Danny reassured her, "It's just that some days Danno reaches the very edge of his crazy tolerance and then Uncle Steve shoves him right over. Today was one of those days."

"No, he didn't blow anything up." It occurred to Danny that Grace heard too much about their cases, "He borrowed a glider from a nice tourist."

That was the best way Danny could thing to spin – _The __lunatic __grabbed __a __glider __and __jumped __off __a __cliff __when __we __realized __that __the __gang __members we __were __chasing __had __gone __done, __not__up, __the __trail. __Even __though __Chin __and __Kono __were __already __waiting __at __the __bottom __and, __in __fact, __kept __said __gang __members __from __shooting __Steve __out __of __the __sky._

"No! I did not borrow a glider, too!" Sometimes Danny wondered if his own precious little girl was trying to kill him (maybe her mother was putting her up to it). "No! It would not be fun!"

Danny was just about to launch into his outdoor safety lecture when his apartment was suddenly rocked by one the loudest non-McGarrett related crashes he had ever heard. The beer bottle danced off the edge of the table, spilling amber liquid on the carpet.

"Gracie, I'll call you back!" Danny hung up the phone and raced towards the source of the crash, which happened to be his bathroom.

He yanked open the door, instinctively flinching back from the water spraying at him. Danny's initial thought was that pipe had exploded. There was plaster drifting through the air and the floor was flooding, but there didn't seem to be much real damage. Then he noticed the red ribbons swirling through the pooling water. As a veteran homicide detective, Danny knew blood when he saw it.

Looking upwards, it appeared to him that some massive weight had been dropped on the floor above him. The ceiling over the tub was bowed downward, cracked and splintered in places. Pieces of white fiberglass could be seen, his upstairs neighbor's bathtub Danny guessed. One of the larger cracks had something else poking through it. It took Danny's horrified brain a few seconds to realize what he was seeing: It was an arm, with parts of the skin scraped away to reveal muscle and bone underneath. The blood was running down the ruined hand to create a small crimson waterfall.

Danny called directly to dispatch as he sprinted out of his own apartment and up the stairs. After confirming with the dispatcher that police, fire, and EMT's were all enroute, he turned his attention to the breathy shrieks that were coming from the apartment directly above his.

"This is the police!" Danny tried the knob but it was locked, "Can you hear me? Can you open the door?"

He got no reply. Stepping back, Danny took a deep breath and kicked the door in. He remembered not to use his bad knee, but pain still radiated up his leg. Danny fleetingly wondered how Steve made it look so damned easy as he limped towards the small, chalky woman hyperventilating on the floor in the living room.

Danny didn't know any of his neighbors well. He had a vague impression that two women lived in this apartment, a mother and her adult daughter. It was the daughter that was kneeling next to. Danny wracked his brain but could not come with her name.

"I'm Detective Williams. I live downstairs. Are you hurt?" he kept his tone calm and reassuring.

"No . . . no . . . my mom . . . she's . . ." the woman was gasping and crying at the same time.

Danny heard sirens growing louder and louder. There were heavy footsteps from the hall. He looked up, expecting a firefighter. Instead, Steve McGarrett appeared in the doorway.

Seeing that Danny had the situation in the living room under control, Steve moved wordlessly passed him and peered into the bathroom. From his position on the floor, Danny couldn't see into the bathroom, but he could see Steve's face. Danny knew right away that the scene was very bad. Steve stepped away from bathroom door, shaking his head sadly at Danny: There was nothing they could do for the woman inside.

Danny turned his attention back to the shuddering form next to him, "Paramedics are on the way. Can you take some deep breaths for me?"

She didn't seem to hear him. Danny was beginning to worry that she would pass out when the apartment was suddenly flooded with firefighters. Two of them took over care of the traumatized woman, leaving Danny free to join Steve.

He didn't really want to know, but felt that he had to ask, "What happened in there? Did the bathtub explode?"

Steve's face was carefully blank but something in his eyes told Danny that what Steve had seen in the bathroom was getting to him, even before he answered, "I think she must have been taking a bath or a shower. The tub from the bathroom in the third floor apartment came down on her," Steve paused, "She did not survive the impact."

"God, what an awful way to go." As they headed back downstairs, Danny couldn't get the image of the arm out of his head. He didn't dare try and imagine what images Steve was seeing.

They found Chin and Kono in Danny's apartment, with an HPD officer and a firefighter. They were all looking into his bathroom, up towards the ceiling. Well at least he wouldn't be the only one with the arm image in his nightmares, Danny thought.

"Hey, what are all of you doing here?" he turned to Steve as a new thought occurred to him, "And how did you beat all the emergency responders to the scene? Do you have cameras hidden in my apartment? What about Kono's apartment? Chin's house?"

"That's absurd. Of course I don't have hidden cameras," Steve grew serious, "Grace called me. She said you were on the phone with her when something really bad happened and you hung up. I called Chin and Kono on my way over."

Danny swore, "I have to call Grace and tell her I'm okay. Can you hang on a second?"

Steve nodded, heading over to join the group by the bathroom.

"How can this happen?" Kono wanted to know, "I'm asking because I have neighbors above me, and they have a bathtub."

Steve allowed himself a small smile. Gallows humor was a common way for cops to deal with the things they saw every day.

Chin just shook his head, "We'll have to wait for a report from the building inspector. In the meantime, you may want to shower at HQ, cuz."

More firefighters appeared at the apartment's front door. "We need everyone to move outside until we can be sure that the rest of the building is stable."

The four members of Five-0 filed out, Danny still on the phone. They gathered near the Camaro as he finished saying goodnight to his daughter.

"Danny staying at your place, Boss?" Kono asked.

"Yes," Steve answered, at the exact same time that Danny snapped, "No!"

"When Kono says, 'Boss,' she's talking to me," Steve explained helpfully. Kono nodded in agreement.

"_Who_ she was asking doesn't matter," Danny informed them, "It's _what_ she was asking that his the issue. I _am __not_ staying at Casa McGarrett, a structure which is known for being riddled with bullets and invaded by killer nijias."

"Each of those things happened once," Steve protested, "What are the odds that either would happen again?"

"What are the odds that either would happen once? And in the same year?" Danny's hands were waving now, "This is you we're talking about and that makes the odds extremely high."

"Children, this isn't the time," Chin interrupted softly. They all followed his look and saw the victim's daughter approaching.

"Kilia, we're all very sorry about your mother," Steve held her eyes for a moment so that she could see that he understood what it meant to lose a parent to suddenly violence, "Is there someone here for you?"

"I have a cousin on her way over. I'll stay with her family." Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over.

Danny stopped wondering why Steve knew his neighbor's name when he didn't and stepped forward to offer what comfort he could, "Would you like to sit in my car while you wait? Kono will find you some Kleenex and bottle of water."

Their rookie headed off to do just that.

Kilia shook her head, "All I want you to do is take this!" She shoved the ceramic cat she had been clutching at Danny, who instinctively took it from her, "It killed my mother!" The tears began to fall quickly now.

The three men exchanged mystified looks.

Steve gently placed his hands on her shoulders, "Kilia, your mother had an accident with a bathtub."

"But the statue caused it," Kilia seemed to compose herself a little before continuing, "Mom and her sister Halia, they always wanted to see Egypt, ever since they were little girls. Four months ago, they finally went. After they saw the pyramids, they bought some stuff at the gift shop. When they got back to the hotel, Aunt Halia found the statue of Bastet in one of her bags. She didn't buy it so the clerk must have put it in by accident. She decided to keep it." More tears interrupted the story.

Chin quietly signaled to a nearby HPD officer, "Can you find out when her cousin will be here to take her home."

"Does your Aunt live here in Hawaii, too?" Danny asked. It seemed to settle her a little when she talked.

"No, she moved to San Diago years ago," Kono returned with a wad of tissues for her. Kilia accepted them with a grateful smile. "But just a few weeks after she got home from Egypt, she died."

"What happened?" Steve prompted when the distraught woman fell silent.

"It was a escalator accident!" Kilia sniffed.

Danny desperately wanted to ask how one could have a fatal escalator accident but couldn't think of any tactful way to ask. He resolved to look up the incident later.

Kilia was continuing her story, "We all went to the mainland for the funeral. Mom saw the statue and asked Halia's kids if she could have it. She said it was a memory of their trip. The girls gave it to her."

Another young Hawaiian woman hurried over, "Kilia! I'm so sorry." The cousins hugged, "Let me take you home now."

Kilia turned back to Danny, "After Mom brought that statue home, bad things started to happen. She got food poisoning, two days ago her car lost its breaks, and now this. That statue is cursed! I'm so sorry but you're Five-0 – you'll know what to do with it." She allowed her cousin to lead her away.

The four members of Five-0 were left in awkward silence.

"Well, that happened." Danny headed towards his apartment building, looking back over his shoulder at his friends, "Thank you all for coming so quickly. I'll see you at work tomorrow."

Still looking at his friends, Danny actually walked into the firefighter who had stepped forward to block the building's entrance, "Sir, you can't go in there. The building is off limits pending an inspection."

"I can't –" Danny forced himself to be reasonable. These people were doing their jobs to keep him safe. He respected that, "Of course, I'll just a few of my things."

The man, who in all his firefighting gear was almost twice Danny's size, didn't budge, "I'm sorry but you can't enter your apartment at all. The ceiling could come down."

Danny was aware of Steve stepping up beside him. This was one of the rare times when having an insane Navy SEAL for a partner was worth it. Danny waited, a little bit gleefully, for McGarrett to spout some nonsense about immunity and combine it with a death glare to gain them access to his apartment.

Steve, however, chose this occasion to masquerade as a reasonable human being, "Pardon Detective Williams. He's a bit shaken up by the death of his neighbor and the loss of his home. I'm his partner and he can stay at my place while you do your job," Steve took Danny's elbow and pulled him away from the door, "We'll be going now."

Danny reluctantly followed Steve back to their vehicles, "What am I supposed to do about my clothes?" he demanded, looking down at the sweatpants, t-shirt, and running shoes he had thrown on to watch the game, "What am I supposed to wear to work tomorrow?"

Steve waved the question away as if it were of no importance, "You're welcome to borrow something. I have plenty of clothes."

"What? You don't understand the problem with that suggestion, do you?" Danny made a series of hand gestures between the two of them, "I would have a better chance of wearing Kono's clothes."

"I think I have some things in the car," Kono offered, coming up beside him, "You want me to check now?"

"No," Danny stomped towards the Camaro, "I will sleep at Steve's tonight and make do with what I'm wearing for a day or two."

Chin shook his head regretfully, "I was talking to some of the firefighters. They estimate it might be a week or longer until your apartment's been cleared. They're worried that when the body is removed, it will cause the ceiling over your bathroom to completely cave in."

"If they don't just declare the entire place an unsafe rat trap and condemn it," Steve added helpfully.

Danny closed his eyes and forced himself to take deep calming breaths. "Fine," he ground out, "tomorrow I will need to take a personal day to do some shopping. Right now, I would like to leave, but I will need a ride since my keys are in my apartment."

Steve reached into one of the many pockets on his cargo pants, producing Danny's wallet, badge, and car key, "I grabbed these for you on the way out."

"Thank you," Danny's smile was sincere. It was nice having people who looked out for you.

As Steve was climbing into his truck, he looked back over his shoulder, "I didn't have a chance to get your gun. You can borrow one or two of my spares."

He slammed to cab door before Danny could respond.

Yes, Danny thought, pulling out onto the street behind Steve, this is my life.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you so much to everyone who read, reviewed, or alerted the first chapter. I'm having so much fun writing this._

_DISCLAIMER: The characters belong to CBS. If they were mine, season 2 would be going differently:)._

Several hours later, well after midnight, Steve was once again standing outside of Danny's apartment building. He was dressed all in black, sticking to the deep shadows, to avoid the two rookie patrol officers who were supposed to be securing the area until morning.

Waiting until their patrol took them out of sight, Steve made quick work of the locks on a ground floor window. He slipped silently inside, making a mental note to see if Danny's apartment had the same locks. If it did, he'd have to change them out.

Danny's apartment was in the front of the building, but there were too many lights so Steve had entered through a neighbor's apartment along the back. Navigating through the building was child's play for the SEAL, even in the dark.

In Danny's bedroom, the streetlight provided enough illumination for Steve to efficiently pack a week's worth of clothes. He even detoured through the bathroom for his partner's array of hair products.

Once they had arrived at Steve's house, Danny had been uncharacteristically quiet. He had declined Steve's offer of a beer on the lanai, instead heading straight up to bed.

Since Steve believed in preparedness, he always purchased a replacement as soon as he opened a new package. That meant he had a new toothbrush, toothpaste, bar of soap, etc – all of which he happily gave to his friend. Danny thanked him very politely but failed to respond with his normal sarcasm to any of Steve's baiting – even the observation that at least his underwear would fit the shorter man.

It was seeing him so tired and worried that made Steve resolve to make this little raid on Danny's apartment. Remembering the way Danny had been frowning as he used his phone to check his bank balance (when he had thought Steve wasn't looking) made Steve double back and grab a handful of ties from the bedroom closet.

Of course, it was very dark so Danny was just going to have to make do with whatever color combinations he ended up with. Steve smirked a little at that thought.

Back out in the hallway, he froze suddenly, listening to the unmistakable sound of footsteps on the floor above him. Steve sighed. He had no doubt that some other resident had managed to sneak back into the building, also intent on gathering some personal items.

Unfortunately, while Steve was a trained Navy SEAL moving around on the first floor, the guy upstairs was some civilian on the less stable second floor. Steve couldn't leave him up there.

Hitching the large duffle bag higher on his shoulder, he headed up the stairs. He moved cautiously, watching for any signs of instability, but not trying to be particularly quiet. He figured that his chances of getting out without trouble with HPD were pretty much nil at this point.

At the top of the staircase, Steve paused to get his bearings in the darkness. Without warning, a man also dressed all in black rushed past him, shoving Steve as ran down the stairs. The weight of the bulky duffle caused Steve to momentarily loose his balance, leaving him tottering at the top of the stairs.

He was able to steady himself, but the other man was already at the bottom of the stairs. Steve watched him burst through the building's front door, surprising the two officers outside. Steve stepped back, out of sight, as the two rookies gave chase.

He shrugged silently to himself, waiting until was clear so that he could slip out of the building undetected. Since the other guy was no longer in danger, there was no reason for _him_ to get caught here.

As he made the short trip to his truck, parked a few streets over to avoid detection, Steve smiled to himself as he imagined Danny's reaction to finding his stuff beside the bed in the morning.

_H50****H50****H50**** H50****H50****H50**** H50****H50****H50**** H50****H50****_

"Danny, I'm going to leave without if you don't get down here!" Steve yelled up the stairs.

"Not in my car you're not!" Danny yelled back, "I'll be there in a minute. I don't just roll out of bed, check yesterday's clothes for blood stains, and run my hands through my hair."

Steve sighed and leaned against the front door. Seeing his own clothes this morning had done wonders for Danny's mood. Steve was happy to see his partner back to his normal loud self, but he was making them late. Steve hated to be late.

Across from the front door was a small table with various framed photos displayed. They were the same pictures his mother had put there before her death. Steve suddenly wondered if it was time to add some memories of his own, replace a few with pictures from a team BBQ. It took his brain a minute to process the fact that someone had already made an addition to the table.

"Danny, is that a statue of Bastet sitting in my entryway?" The footsteps that Steve had been listening to paused on the stairs and then continued down.

"I'm not sure who Bastet is, but yes, I left the ceramic cat on the table last night." Seeing the skeptical look on Steve's face, Danny got defensive, "Look, we both know that thing didn't kill anyone. Kilia knows it, too. Once some time has passed, she may want her mother's statue thingy back. I figured I 'd hang onto it for awhile."

Steve shrugged, "Just remember that the laundry room is under the bathtub." He pushed himself away from the front door and headed outside. If he drove just a little bit faster than normal, there was still a chance they'd get to work on time.

Danny looked over at his partner as he buckled his seatbelt, "You were so busy timing my morning routine that I haven't really gotten a chance to say thank you for illegally breaking into a possibly collapsing building to get my things."

"You're welcome?" Steve's tone was bemused as he tried to sort out whether or not he had just been insulted.

"I mean it, man. Thank you for getting my stuff. But don't ever put yourself in danger for my ties again," Danny had to grab onto the handle above the door as Steve threw the car into a narrow gap between two SUV's, "Hey! Chin and Kono aren't going to tell the Governor you were five minutes late."

"Being on time is important, Danny."

"Being alive trumps on time."

"I'm sorry but being on time means keeping yourself and other people alive," Steve was partially serious, but he also wanted to get a reaction out of the other man.

Danny did not disappoint, "On time saves lives? We don't even have an active case. You're endangering my life for paperwork, because that's what's waiting for us at HQ."

The Palace was just ahead of them now. Steve spotted a break in the traffic on the cross street and gunned the engine. As the silver sports car shot through the intersection, a huge black pick-up truck roared out of an on-street parking space, straight into the Camaro.

Danny saw the truck coming, felt his heart stop, and knew that this was the moment he left this world.

Steve floored the accelerator, jerked the wheel hard, and spun the Camaro away from the truck and into the Palace's parking lot. Without missing a beat, he pulled neatly into one of the spaces reserved for Five-0.

"What the fuck!" Danny screamed. His hands were shaking from left over adrenaline.

Steve rubbed his hands over his face, "Danny, I'm sorry. I know I was driving fast but – I just didn't see the truck."

"Why are you apologizing?" Danny asked. He glared in the direction the long vanished truck had taken, "He went from sitting to straight into traffic. He never even looked! This is maybe the only time you've been behind the wheel of my car that you don't have to apologize to me."

The two men headed inside, Danny still ranting about bad drivers who shouldn't have licenses.

Chin and Kono both looked up from the computer table when they walked in. Danny started to tell them about his near death experience but never got the chance."

"It's about time you guys got here," Chin remarked, "We caught a case." He was already pulling up info on the wall screens.

Danny glanced at his watch. It was 8:05.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you, thank you, thank you so much to everyone who has read, reviewed, or alerted this story. Its turning out to be so much fun to write._

_DISCLAIMER: Not mine._

Three days of shootouts, high speed chases, and one memorable fight that pitted Steve and his KA-BAR against a large Samoan with a chainsaw later, Danny was finally able to collapse into one of the wooden chairs on McGarrett's lanai.

Steve handed him a cold beer before settling into the other chair, "I bet you didn't get to work cases like that back in Jersey." Steve was smiling.

_Probably __reliving __the __chainsaw __fight_, Danny figured – _maniac_.

"Do you know how tired I am?" Danny didn't wait for an answer, "I am so tired that I cannot even begin to explain to you all the ways that it is wrong to approach a giant holding a chainsaw," Steve tried to defend himself but Danny kept talking, "I am so tired that, for the first time _ever_, I am happy that this is not my weekend with Grace."

Kono joined them, settling comfortably on the ground, "I don't believe that for a second."

Danny saluted the truth of her comment with his beer bottle.

Chin dragged another chair over, "Have you heard anything about when you can go back to your apartment?"

"All the apartments have been cleared but mine, Kilia's, and the one on the third floor," Danny sounded disgusted with the delay.

"You're better off here anyway," Steve told him, pushing up out of his seat so that he could flip the burgers.

Danny laughed, "Better off here? I'm just waiting for a group of pygmy assassins to show up looking to take revenge for the time you and your SEAL buddies took out their high priest."

Steve stopped and turned around to stare at him, "Pygmy assassins –"

Without warning, the gas grill exploded in a small fireball accompanied by a rush of sound and heat. Steve was thrown to the ground. Danny and Chin were both knocked out of their chairs. Kono, who had been sitting on the ground, fared better. She rolled with the explosion, then immediately rushed to check on her fallen boss.

"Steve, can you hear me?" She quickly patted out a few smoldering spots on his shirt and pants. She could see three bloody spots on Steve's back where he had been hit by debris but nothing looked serious.

"I'm fine," Steve gently, but firmly, moved her aside so that he could get up, "Check on Chin and Danny, then call 911. I have to grab the fire extinguisher."

Chin tried to roll to his feet but was stopped by stabbing pain in his shoulder.

Hearing his involuntary gasp brought Kono to his side instantly, "Stay still, cuz. There's a piece of the grill in your shoulder. I don't think it's too bad. I need to check on Danny, and then I'll call for an ambulance."

Danny had immediately sat up, but he was struggling to breath, the wind knocked out of him. Looking through the flames towards the house, Danny's gaze was drawn to the glittering green rhinestones set in the Bastet statue's eyes.

_How __did __that __get __in to __the __kitchen __window_, he wondered muzzily. Then he heard Kono say his name and the present snapped back into focus.

"I'm fine," Danny assured her, getting up before she could leave Chin's side. "Stay with Chin and call it in. I'll help Steve with the fire."

The fire trucks and EMT's actually arrived just a few minutes later, as Steve was smothering the last of the flames white foam.

"One of your neighbors must have called," Danny remarked, "Living next door to you, they probably all have 911 on speed dial. I wonder what's happened to the property values around here since you've been home."

Steve glared at him as they walked through the crowd of firefighters between them and the ambulance where Chin was being treated.

"There's a piece of metal in his shoulder," Kono reported, "They're going to take him to the ER to have it removed."

Steve frowned, "We'll meet you there after I make sure everything's secured here."

"Take care of your house, brah," Chin told him, gesturing with his good arm at the cracked glass in the back door and the white residue covering a large part of the lanai, "If they hadn't gotten here so fast, I'd have pulled it out myself."

Kono's glare was enough to make the EMT next to Chin take a half stop back, "No, you would not have."

Steve smiled, "Well since Kono seems to have this under control, we'll start cleaning up here." His smile faded, "And I want to take a look at the grill. We got very lucky today. If one of us had been standing at the grill . . ."

"It was old," Chin told him, "Your dad put it in years ago – things get old." He knew that Steve felt bad that he had been hurt and wanted to head off the guilt.

"Thank God the tank was almost empty. I was going to replace it next week." Steve didn't look entirely convinced that he wasn't somehow at fault, but the lines in his forehead were smoothing out.

"Anybody else need to be looked at?" the EMT asked.

"I'm good," Danny responded, "Just a little bruised and very dirty."

Steve didn't bother to respond. He could feel the cuts on his back but he knew that they weren't serious. He'd make sure they were clean before he went to bed.

The ambulance driver signaled that it was time to go. Everyone stepped back so that he could close the doors. Kono headed for her car so that she could follow the ambulance, assuring Steve she would call immediately if anything changed.

Watching them leave, Steve realized that Danny hadn't said anything for quite awhile. He turned and found his partner staring at the kitchen window.

"You okay?" Steve started to worry that maybe he should have had the EMT's check Danny out before they left.

"What?" Danny gave Steve a strange look, "Did you put that Cat thingy in the window?"

"Bastet?" Steve studied the 8" black cat with garish gold accents, "I think I did?"

"You're not sure? How can you not be sure? You either moved it or you didn't."

"Danny, relax. I picked it up yesterday and then Chin called with that lead. I pace while I talk," he shrugged, "I must have ended up in the kitchen."

Steve was headed over to the remains of the grill when something suddenly occurred to him, "You don't think Bastet made the grill explode, do you? You know that there is no curse."

"Of course I know," Danny huffed. "It's going to get dark soon. Let's get this cleaned up."

_H50****H50**** H50****H50**** H50****H50**** H50****H50**** H50****H50****_

"A month! Discount! His brother-in-law!" Danny's hands were waving wildly and his face was an alarming shade of red, "Thirty days! Reduced rent!"

Steve, Kono, and Chin all stood around the computer table, staring at Danny, who was standing in his office doorway, with a mixture of concern and fear.

Steve's mind raced, trying and failing to form Danny's words into some kind of coherent message. "Your landlord called?" he finally guessed, feeling safe since he had seen Danny on the phone earlier.

Danny took a few deep breathes, "Yes, my foul, pond scum sucking landlord finally returned my messages."

"And it's going to be another month before your apartment's clear?" Chin prompted.

"Is the building inspector your landlord's brother-in-law?" Kono wanted to know.

"No," Danny was still angry but no longer incoherent, "My apartment has been cleared. Now my cheapskate landlord is waiting for his brother-in-law, who apparently works the same way a glacier flows, to do the repairs. So it may be a month before I have a functional bathroom again – but my landlord is getting a great price on the work!" Danny took a few more deep breaths, "Oh, and for my inconvenience, I'm getting a discount on next month's rent."

"So you'll stay at my place until the work is done," Steve told him, "At least you can get more of your stuff."

"That would be a good idea," Kono agreed, "Because that tie and that shirt . . ." She shook her head.

Steve's cell phone saved him from another episode of What Happens When a Navy Ninja SEAL Picks out Your Clothes in the Dark. He stepped away to answer it.

Listening to Danny with half of his attention, Chin could tell from the look on Steve's face that he wasn't happy with the caller.

"Something wrong?" Chin asked when Steve ended the call.

Danny and Kono both immediately shifted their attention to their boss, waiting to see if they had a new case.

Steve shook his head, "It's nothing important. I asked Charlie Fong to take a look at what's left of my grill. He was letting me know that they're processing evidence from a huge drug bust HPD made. He won't be able to get to the grill for a couple of days."

Chin frowned, "Didn't the Fire Marshall say it was an accident caused by age and use?"

"He did," Steve kind of shrugged, "It's just that I take care of my equipment. Every time I switched the tank, I always inspected all the lines. I never saw any sign of wear. I thought maybe the forensics lab would see something the Fire Marshall didn't."

"If there's anything to find, Charlie is the one to do it," Kono smiled confidently.

Chin and Danny exchanged amused looks behind her back. Kono seemed to still believe that her teammates were unaware that she was spending a lot of time with a certain lab tech.

Steve's phone rang again, "McGarrett . . . Have the police been dispatched? . . . I'm on my way now." Steve shoved the phone into a pocket, "Something triggered the alarm at my house."

Steve was already heading towards the door, the rest of his team behind him, "Chin, you have stitches in your shoulder. Stay here and co-ordinate," he called back over his shoulder.

Chin's expression made it plain how he felt about being side lined, but he did as instructed.

"You know," Danny started as he clung to the handle above the Camero's passenger seat (he was certain that one day it was going to snap off and send him crashing into Steve – he couldn't wait to see Super SEAL try to prevent that wreck!), "if it was you with six stitches in your shoulder, you wouldn't stay behind at HQ."

"Commander's prerogative," Steve snapped.

Danny sighed and concentrated on thinking positive thoughts about arriving in one piece for the rest of the short drive.

As they skidded to a stop in front of the McGarrett residence, Danny realized that Kono's red Cruz had stayed with them the entire way. He was really going to have to work harder to counter-balance the effects Steve was having on their rookie.

They found the driveway and yard filled with police officers and firefighters.

An HPD Sergeant spotted them and hurried over, "Commander McGarrett, I have to ask you to stay in the driveway. The power line came loose where it connected to the house. There's a live wire down in the yard. We're waiting for a truck from the power company."

"Why did the alarm go off? The security system has a battery back-up," Steve tried to step around the Sergeant, who looked at Danny for help.

Since Danny happened to have a healthy respect for live wires, he put a restraining hand on Steve's arm, "Hey, we have to wait for the power company." He turned to the Sergeant, "Have you done a visual inspection of the property? Does anything look out of place?"

"All windows and doors are secure. Nothing seems to be disturbed," he reported.

Before Steve could make an argument for entering the house immediately the truck from the power company pulled into the driveway. Several competent looking men immediately got to work.

"Kono, why don't you head back to HQ. Contact the alarm company and find out what you can about what tripped the system," Steve instructed as he watched the work being done on the power lines, "Danny and I will wait here until we can check the house ourselves."

Once Kono left, the two men settled into the Camero to wait.

Steve watched the firefighters moving around the yard and sighed, "How many times can you call the fire department before they charge you for coming?"

"That's only for false alarms," Danny reassured him, "All of your emergencies are real."

Steve laughed but then became more serious, "What makes a power line come down like that on a clear sunny day?"

Danny considered for a minute, "Did you ever check it after Taylor shot up the place? That certainly rocked the house. The grill explosion was not – thank God – very big but it shook the house, too. Maybe it's just bad luck that it came down today."

They sat quietly, each absorbed in his own thoughts while the work continued on the power line.

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A few hours later, Steve was standing in his house, studying the alarm panel as he talked to Chin on the phone.

"So the alarm company thinks it was caused by a glitch when the power went out and the system switched over to the battery back-up?"

Chin could tell that Steve wasn't entirely convinced, "Do you see anything out of place?"

"No, not really," Steve resisted the urge to punch the wall, "I mean, I just had 30 people tromping through my yard for the second time in 3 days, so really, there are a lot of things out of place."

"Anything inside?" Chin pressed.

"No," Steve admitted. "Why don't you go home and rest your shoulder? Tell Kono to catch some waves. I'll see you both tomorrow."

Ending the call, Steve looked around for Danny, who was being oddly quiet. He found the smaller man in the kitchen, examining the Bastet statue.

"Danny, you aren't seriously going to suggest that an ancient Egyptian curse knocked out my electricity?" Steve smirked when Danny quickly put the statue back on the window sill.

"Look at everything that's happened since I got it. We were almost killed by a truck. Your grill exploded and Chin ended up with a piece of it embedded in his shoulder. What about today? The house could have burned down, or one of us could have been killed by a live wire," Danny didn't sound completely convinced, but Steve could tell he was considering it.

"So now you're a little girl?" Steve didn't try to hide the mocking, "Should I set up sleeping bags in the living room so that we can sit up all night and tell ghost stories?"

Danny responded with a rude gesture, "I'm just saying that maybe we should get rid of it. It's not like we need anything to bring us extra bad luck. We have you for that."

"Don't get rid of it," Danny was surprised by how vehement Steve sounded, "Kilia may want it back eventually. It means a lot to have your mother's things when she's gone."

Danny did a quick mental inventory of the house they were standing in and tried to think of a gentle way to suggest that Steve might be projecting his own feelings.

He never got the chance because Steve's attention was captured by the back door, "There are fingerprints here." He walked over to take a better look at them.

"They probably belong to one us," Danny dismissed, "We go in and out that door all the time."

Steve shook his head, "I don't remember them being here when I came back from my swim this morning. You haven't used this door since then." He carefully opened the door to compare the prints from both sides, "They're on the outside."

"There have been firefighters, police officers, and people from the power company all over your yard. One of them must have touched the door, probably the police when they were checking to see if everything was secure." Danny wasn't really paying much attention to Steve. Instead, he was trying to figure out how he was going to research Bastet and Egyptian curses without Steve finding out.

Realizing that Danny was distracted, Steve deliberately turned away from the door and headed for the garage, "I want to do some work on the Mercury tonight." He knew that Danny would rather take Hula lessons than hang out in the garage. If there happened to be a finger print kit stashed out there, Danny didn't have to know about it. Steve was not going to give Danny any more ammunition for calling him a paranoid freak.

Danny headed for the stairs, "I'm going to go up to my room and grab my laptop. I have a ton of emails from my family to catch up on." If he also researched a certain cat god, Steve didn't need to know about it. Danny wasn't going to give him a reason to call him crazy.


	4. Chapter 4

_Thank you so much to everyone who has let me know how much they are enjoying this story._

Kono walked into Five-0 Headquarters the morning after the power line incident in a good mood. The weather was beautiful and the waves had been almost perfect. It was still a few minutes before 8:00 but Steve and Danny were already in their offices. She could hear Chin whistling to himself in the small kitchen area, probably brewing coffee.

Waving good morning to her boss, Kono was headed for her own office when her eyes landed on a new addition to the squad room. On the window sill beyond the computer table was a small statue of a black cat with glittering green eyes and gold adornments.

Kono backtracked to Steve's door. She tapped lightly as she opened it, "Did you guys bring the Bastet statue to work?"

"Danny brought it because he insisted it could not stay in the house," Steve did not attempt to hide his amusement. "It's in the squad room because it's not allowed in his office." His smirk threatened to split his face, "And yes, we can and should mock him for it."

Kono sighed, "Steve, try not to be too hard on him. There are a lot of things in this world that cannot be explained."

Steve looked surprised, "Are you saying that you think a piece of painted ceramics made the grill explode, or knocked out the power?"

She was torn between admitting that she had never completely discounted the stories that her Aunties had told her as a child, and not wanting to seem superstitious in from of Steve.

Fortunately for Kono, Chin saved her from having to choose by poking his head into the office, "We just got a new lead on those smugglers that got away from us last month."

And just like that, Five-0 was out the door in pursuit of the bad guys.

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Since the formation of Five-0, it was a point of pride for Steve McGarrett and his team that the criminals they were pursuing did not get away. So when a band of smugglers, led by the Cantanari Brothers had seemingly vanished, just before Five-0 could apprehend them, it became imperative that they be found.

In the weeks since, several other cases had pushed the Cantanari Gang onto the back burner, but they were not forgotten.

It was almost 24 hours after Chin's announcement of a new lead that the exhausted but satisfied members of Five-0 returned to their headquarters. The Cantanari Brothers and their crew were in jail (or the hospital) and their very expensive boat was at the bottom of the Pacific. If it hadn't been strictly necessary for Steve to blow the boat up, well none of his team was going to comment on it, not even Danny.

Stepping through the doors that marked the entrance to Five-0 territory, Steve paused, frowning, "Did anyone else just hear something?"

Chin and Kono both shook their heads, heading to their respective offices to do the administrative chores that could not wait for even a quick nap.

"You're just tired," Danny told him, also heading for his office.

Alone in the hallway, Steve replayed the last few minutes in his mind. He still believed that he had heard _something_. Steve sighed, maybe he was just tired. He'd check in with Fong to see if there were any updates on either the grill or the fingerprints, then he'd get some sleep.

Entering the squad room, Steve found that Danny hadn't made it to his office. Instead, he was staring at the Bastet statue on the window sill.

Steve sighed, "This isn't the time to start rambling about curses. We're too tired."

"Steve, please listen to me," Danny actually sounded scared, "I put that thing down so that it was facing the window. I didn't want it looking at any of us."

"And now it's facing your office," Steve observed.

He pushed his fatigue aside to consider the situation. Danny was clearly upset; he was not playing any kind of joke. The cleaning crew came on Mondays, but only if someone from Five-0 was available to remain in the offices with them. There had been no cleaning this week.

"Kono, Chin, can you join us out here," Steve waited until they both entered the large common area, "This is a weird question but did either of you touch the Bastet figure? Maybe pick it up to look at it for a minute?"

"I didn't know it was here," Chin admitted, "Did you bring it in yesterday?"

"In the morning before you caught the tip on the Cantanaris," Steve confirmed, "Kono, how about you?"

She shook her head, "I never touched it here. I did pick it up in your house. It was on the kitchen counter and I thought it would be in the way, so I put it in the window."

"Chin, pull up the security footage from the time we left yesterday until we got back today. Danny is certain that someone moved the cat. Let's see who it was." Steve considered for a moment, "Run it backwards, starting now and going back to yesterday. I really think that I heard someone in here when we got back. They could have left through the back hall."

Five-0's security cameras were carefully positioned to cover all the entrances, the squad room, and the office doors. In the beginning, there had also been cameras in the offices, but the team had decided that they were entitled to privacy. (Maybe the fact that Cat Rollins had once surprised Steve at the office while he was working late and they had forgotten about the cameras also played a part in the decision to remove them.)

While Chin turned on the computer table, Danny retrieved his laptop from his office, "I did some research on Bastet. I want you guys to take a look at it."

"Of course you did," Steve sighed.

Danny gave him a dirty look, "If you think I'm crazy, why is Chin pulling up video?"

"Because I think we're going to see the _person_, not the mummy, who broke in here," Steve retorted.

Watching Chin, Kono saw a problem, "Why is there static on all the screens?"

Chin was frowning, "Nothing recorded."

Konno headed to the far corner of the room, "There's a camera in the ceiling over here, right?"

"Let's take a look at it." Danny grabbed a chair and dragged it over. Chin joined them.

Steve's attention was captured by something on Danny's laptop. He was about to take a closer look when his head snapped up, "Does anyone else smell smoke?"

"Smoke? I don't smell anything." Turning back towards Steve, Danny immediately realized how wrong he was. "Behind you! The computer table's on fire!"

Black smoke was rising from the table. Before anyone could react, a flame appeared from its side, licking upward to caress the glass top. It was quickly joined by a second flame and then a third. The shrill, skull piercing sound of the fire alarm filled the air.

Steve rushed to the powerful surge protector that was connected to the room's electronics and cut the power. Danny started for the fire extinguisher hanging by the door but was literally shoved out of the way by Chin, who ignored the fire extinguisher in favor of wrenching open a small panel and frantically stabbing his finger at the button inside.

Danny wondered if the destruction of his beloved computer table had made something inside Chin snap. "The fire alarm is already going off," Danny pointed out gently (or as gently as one could when shouting to be heard over said alarm).

Chin favored him with the same look he had once received from Rachel when they had still been married and he had forgotten to record a check and overdrawn their checking account.

"It's the foam suppression system," Kono replied, while reaching around him for the fire extinguisher.

"It keeps the system from filling the entire room with foam," Steve clarified, as Kono used the extinguisher on the unfortunate computer table. Chin did not watch.

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A short time later, the four members of Five-0 gathered outside on the steps of the Palace. They waited in the late afternoon sunlight as the building's maintenance staff to reset the fire suppression system. Since Five-0 was one of the only places in the building with the foam system, as opposed to sprinklers, it was taking time.

Steve stared thoughtfully into the distance, "Danny, what did you bring up on your laptop right before the fire started?"

"The research I did on Bastet," Danny sounded exhausted, "Why? Have you suddenly decided to believe in the curse now that our offices have gone up in smoke?"

"The offices didn't 'go up in smoke.' All we lost was the computer table." Seeing the pained look on Chin's face, Steve hurried to correct himself, "Which is a blow to the task force. We'll have to replace it immediately, possibly with a newer model."

"Hey boys," Kono interrupted, "Firemen are assigned to specific stations, like cops, right?"

"Yes. Why does it matter?" Chin asked.

Kono was watching the last of the firefighters taking off their equipment and getting ready to leave, "Because that guy was outside Danny's apartment building the other night. He was also at Steve's when the grill exploded and again when the power line came down. Now he's here."

All three men looked at the firefighter in question, then back at Kono. "Why do you know that and we don't?" Danny asked.

She shrugged, "Firefighters are hot. I like to watch them."

Danny studied the man for another moment, "Oh my God! Steve, I think that's the guy who was driving the truck that almost killed us."

Chin was doubtful, "Didn't you say that you didn't really see the driver?"

"Well I wouldn't be able to testify under oath," Danny admitted, "Because my life was flashing before my eyes, but I'm certain enough that we should look into what kind of vehicle he drives."

"What do you think, boss," Kono asked, "Did you see the guy in the truck at all?"

When Steve didn't answer, Danny looked over and found him standing perfectly still, with his eyes closed, "Are you asleep? Is this some kind of SEAL technique for getting rest in the middle of an op?"

"No," Steve opened his eyes, "It's an exercise to help focus memories."

"Like the truck driver?" Chin assumed.

"No, I didn't see him at all," Steve admitted, "But I think I have seen this guy before. The night I snuck back into Danny's building for his things, there was another man in the building, poking around on the second floor. When I went looking for him, he flew past me and raced out of the building. He almost knocked me down the stairs."

"And we're just hearing about this now?" Danny was outraged, "A strange man in a dark building assaults you and you don't think to mention that?"

"Get a grip. You make it sound like I'm a child someone tried to molest," Steve was torn between annoyance and amusement. "It didn't seem important. I thought he was just a resident of the building who wanted some of his things and was afraid of getting caught."

"But now you think it was Kono's mystery firefighter?" Chin still sounded doubtful. "Did you have a flashlight? You said he ran past you pretty fast."

"I didn't have a flashlight but there was plenty of ambient light. My eyes were well adjusted and I have excellent night vision."

"Of course you do," Danny snarked.

Steve ignored him, "I really think it was him. Danny, does he live in your building? Have you ever seen him before?"

"No, and there's no reason for one firefighter to have been everywhere we've been for the past week. We need to talk to him."

"Well then we'd better hurry," Kono told them, "I think he made us and he's leaving – fast."

The dark haired man made eye contact with Steve for a moment and then sprinted away in the opposite direction. Steve and Kono were instantly after him. Danny and Chin exchanged one weary glance before running to their respective vehicles.

Ahead of Steve, the fleeing man disappeared into an alley. Steve never broke stride, running through the alley at a full sprint, leaping over debris and ducking around dumpsters. Kono was only a few steps behind him.

At the other end, the alley opened on a wide street that was lined with bars, restaurants, and a few trendy shops. The area was filled with people leaving work, getting an early dinner, or starting a night out. Steve scanned the crowd, his height working to his advantage, but he could not find the man they chasing.

"We lost him, didn't we?" Kono was obviously frustrated.

Danny's silver Camaro and Chin's motorcycle rounded the corner at the end of the street, both men searching the crowd as they drove. They stopped once they reached their teammates. Danny climbed out of the car.

"It isn't like you to let a guy get away," Danny looked at Steve with concern, "Did you hit your head or something when that boat exploded earlier?"

"Danny, when you were researching Bastet, did you find a connection to a group called the Himaya?" Steve was staring at Danny intently.

"What? Yes, they're some kind of group that wants to preserve the history if Egypt. They use Bastet as a symbol because she was a goddess of protection," Danny was confused, "What does that have to do with anything."

Steve smiled triumphantly, "Himaya is actually a cover for a terrorist group that I ran into when I was working for Naval Intelligence. I think I may know what's going on."

_Author's notes: I think that Himaya is an Arabic word for protection. If I'm wrong than I apologize to any Arabic speakers who may be reading this._

_I promise to post the final chapter on Monday._


	5. Chapter 5

_This is the end. Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading. I especially appreciate all of the reviews and alerts._

Steve led his team back into Five-0 Headquarters. Now that the facts were coming together, he felt reinvigorated. After days of vague unease and nagging suspicions, they had an actual case to solve.

"Kono, call Fong. He was checking into the remains of the grill for me," Steve glanced over at Danny, "He was also running some fingerprints for me."

"You pulled those prints off you back door, didn't you? Of course you did," Danny sighed and sent Steve a sideways glance, "Hey Kono, while you're talking to Charlie, ask about the analysis of the wood from my apartment building."

"Didn't the Fire Marshall rule that an accident caused by rotten wood?" Steve questioned.

"Didn't he rule that your grill explosion was caused by wear and poor maintenance?" Danny countered.

Kono shook her head at the two of them and went to her office to make the phone call.

Steve stepped past the remains of the computer table to pick up the Bastet statue. He turned it over in his hands, examining it carefully. Pulling a small folding knife from one of his many pockets, Steve gently scraped at the statue's base, causing a small section to separate. Underneath it, tucked into the figure was a microSD card.

Steve smiled triumphantly, "Chin, see what you can get off of this."

"So what do you know about Himaya?" Danny wanted to know, "And don't try to claim that it's classified. These people have tried to kill me – they've injured Chin – we get to know."

"I don't know a whole lot," Steve admitted, "They're a group from Egypt. They aren't part of Al Qaeda any other of the larger terrorist networks. They're more of a cult, wanting a return to the old ways."

"So they want to build pyramids and wear white sheets?" Danny's tone made it clear what he thought of that.

Steve leveled a repressive glare at him, "I think it's more about the old ways and religions, a time when Egypt was very powerful."

"Are they known for being violent?" Chin asked from the counter where was putting the microSD into a laptop.

"Not usually, but they've grown into a large enough group to have some splinter cells that are."

Kono came out of her office, "What do you guys want first: the good news, the bad news, or the inconclusive findings?"

"Damn it, I'm too tired for this – just tell us," Danny sank into a chair to listen.

"Sorry, brah," Kono offered him a weary smile, "Fire Marshall ruled that the floor in the third story bathroom was rotten. The building is 40 years old and apparently there have been several leaks over the years. So it was moisture, some mold in the floor –"

"The things I say about your apartment being a deathtrap are true," Steve smirked.

"- and a high concentration of lye, which compounded the under other problems. The Fire Marshall did find that a little unusual so he did some investigating. The current tenant has only been there a few months. The previous tenant was very into holistic and natural living. According to neighbors, she made all her own soaps, shampoos, cleaners, etc. So it makes sense that she could have spilled a lot of over the years."

"Not suspicious by itself," Danny agreed, "but when you consider everything else that's been happening, it's very possible that someone added the lye to an already weak and moldy floor, just pull up a small patch of floor and put it underneath. You have an accident waiting to happen."

"Not terribly efficient, but a great way to avoid suspicion," Steve agreed. "What else have you got, Kono?"

"Old, worn lines allowed gas to leak out of the grill. It formed a cloud at ground level and eventually came in contact with the flame, causing the explosion. It's one of the most common causes of gas grill accidents." Kono hurried to continue before Steve could protest the condition of his grill, "The Fire Marshall looked at the lines first, saw what he expected, and ruled it an accident. Charlie compared the lines to the rest of the grill. He says that their condition and wear don't match. Someone could have switched the lines, again creating the situation for a likely accident."

"So we have a lot of possible scenarios but nothing we can prove yet," Chin concluded.

"Pretty much," Kono agreed, "We also have the fingerprints, and that's the bad news. They don't match any database Charlie as access to."

"Do you think that you might have friends that can check some databases that Charlie can't?" Danny asked Steve.

"I may be able to," Steve said mysteriously, ignoring Danny's eye roll, "Chin, are you getting anything from that card?"

"No, it's got some kind of encryption I can't break." He looked longingly at the pathetic remains of the computer table, "I'll have to take it down to the crime lab and borrow some of their equipment."

Steve surveyed his team. They had all be awake for more than 24 hours and were running on fumes. As much as he wanted to push ahead with this, he knew they all needed rest. Besides, if someone was willing to harm or even kill them to get the memory card, they would all need to be alert.

"We'll follow-up on this tomorrow," Steve could tell they were all surprised, "Chin, in the morning I want you to take the card over to the lab. Danny, Kono, we need a picture that we can show around to the firefighters from all four scenes and a name to go with it. Assuming that our guy is following the statue, he would have arrived in Hawaii very shortly after Kilia and her mother brought it back. Try to find the flight he came in on and what name he was traveling under. If we're lucky, we can get a good picture from airport security. I'll see what I can find out about the fingerprints."

"He knows we're onto him," Kono pointed out, "Do you think he'll disappear?"

"He's followed this thing across several continents and killed at least two people, he won't give up yet," Danny told her.

"Since Danny's still staying at my place, we'll take the card and the cat – he may not realize we've found the card yet – home with us for tonight," Steve decided, "I'll it in the gun cabinet."

The weary members of the Five-0 filed out, looking forward to some much needed rest but even more eager to catch their mysterious stalker.

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As Steve and Danny drove to work the next morning, both men were extra alert, watching for another possible attack.

"At least we know your alarm system is doing its job – when you remember to set it," Danny pointed out.

Steve nodded, "He couldn't break in to steal the cat, so he rigged the grill to explode knowing the fire department would respond. He probably figured that someone, most likely me, would be badly hurt or killed. The house would be left unsecured and he could slip in."

Danny laughed softly, "I've been thinking that this thing," he waved around the Bastet figure, "was bringing us bad luck, but really, out luck has been very, very good."

"Absolutely," Steve agreed, "We avoided the car crash, no one was seriously injured by the grill, and when he knocked out the power the battery back-up kept him from getting in. Even when he rigged the computer table to catch fire, Chin's quick thinking kept the fire from spreading and the firefighters never got to come in."

Something clicked in Danny's brain, "Why did he rig the table to catch fire?"

"To gain access to the room . . ." Steve came to the same conclusion that Danny already had, ". . . that he was already in to rig the table. Why didn't he just take Bastet while he was there?"

"It moved while we were out, maybe he couldn't find it," Danny suggested, "Bastet is a goddess of protection, maybe she's looking out for us."

Steve sighed and let it go – if Danny wanted to believe that the trinket had some kind of magical properties, he wasn't going to debate it anymore. He'd just wait until they caught up with their suspect and get the real reason from him.

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The morning passed quickly. Chin immediately left for the crime lab, eager to find something useful on the microSD. Kono and Danny began the tedious and time consuming task of going through airport security footage. Steve spent his time calling in favors to see if anyone could get a hit on the fingerprints. While he waited, he filled out a requisition for a new computer table.

"Hey McGarrett!" Danny yelled from the large conference room, "Get in here. We've got something."

"You called it, Boss," Kono told him cheerfully, "Our guy was on the first flight that landed after Kilia's." She moved aside so that Steve could see the image frozen on the screen. It was definitely their guy.

"I've got a name," Danny announced, "The plane ticket was sold to Akil Malek."

"Anything else on him? Did you check for credit card activity? Any car rentals under his name?" Steve bounced on the balls of his feet ready for some action.

"We've done this before," Danny reminded him, "It just takes a few minutes. Relax."

Kono was on the phone, with a cab company from the sound of it, while Danny printed off copies of the best image he could capture from the video.

Steve had just finished using his phone to confirm that no one had sent him any info on the prints yet, when he spied a now familiar black shape on the table next to Danny, "Why isn't that locked up in the evidence locker?"

Danny and Kono both glanced down at it. She was still on the phone, so it was Danny who was forced to answer, "Locking her in a safe didn't seem right. The card's with Chin, so what does it matter?"

Before Steve could comment on that, Kono came to the rescue with a distraction, "The camera caught the license plate of the cab Malek took from the airport. Unfortunately, he took it directly to a Western Union, where he received a wire for a large amount of cash."

"If he's gone all cash, he'll be almost impossible to track down," Danny sounded frustrated, "I thought we were getting somewhere here."

"Don't worry. I have a plan," Steve smiled. It was the same smile that appeared right before Steve produced a grenade or a shark tank. Danny shuddered.

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Several hours later, the four members of Five-0 stood in the parking lot next to the Palace. The area was once again full of firemen in bulky uniforms and large vehicles with flashing lights, all gathered around the smoking remains of what had once been a small red car.

"Steve, I'm not doing this anymore!" Danny yelled, "This thing," he waved the Bastet statue at the taller man, "this thing is going to kill us!"

"Danny, that's crazy!" Steve yelled back, "We need to keep looking through our old case files until we find the connection to the guy from yesterday."

"Yes," Danny agreed, "After we get rid of this thing!" He waved the cat some more.

"Please listen to him," Kono was standing next to Danny, facing off against Steve.

Chin stepped up next to the taskforce leader, "Kono, you can't seriously believe what Danny is saying about that piece of ceramics."

"My car just burned up!" Kono shrieked, "Think about everything that's gone wrong since Danny got that thing. It needs to go!"

"Fine!," Steve seized the cat statue from Danny and hurled it into the dumpster at the back of the parking lot, "Now we can get back to work!"

The foursome exchanged hostile glares before stalking back inside. The assorted firefighters, Palace employees, and random bystanders that had gathered to watch the argument scattered before them.

Inside, they headed for the stairway that led to the back entrance to Five-0's office space. As soon as they were alone in the stairwell, the hostility vanished.

"Think he bought it?" Danny asked, "Hell, do you think he was even there?"

"I'm sure he was hidden in that crowd somewhere," Steve replied confidently, "And now he just has to wait for everyone to finish up and leave."

"Probably after dark," Chin guessed, "Let's get into position so that we're ready for them."

Instead of heading upstairs, they went down to the basement and made their way through the building. They came up on another wing of the building and made their way to a small second floor conference room that overlooked the dumpster in the parking lot.

"Are the cameras in our cars working," Steve asked.

Chin checked the laptops set up on the table, "All three on transmitting." Steve's truck, Danny's Camero, and Chin's motorcycle were all strategically placed to provide the best possible coverage of the parking lot. Kono's car was parked several blocks away, which had allowed them to set a controlled fire to a decoy car.

Steve surveyed his taskforce, "Is everyone clear on their assignments?"

"I'm going to stay here and monitor the cameras. Once Malek shows up, I'll cover the parking lot," Kono gestured towards the sniper rifle resting by the window.

"I'll be in the west exit door, waiting for Kono's signal to move," Chin said.

"I'll be in the east door, across from Chin, also waiting to hear from Kono." Danny pointed at Steve, "And you will be in the window above the dumpster, ready to jump down on Malek. You realize that is crazy right? There's no reason you can't be positioned in the building by a door."

Steve refused to get into another debate with his partner about the distance to the dumpster from each of the building's exits. "Let's do a radio check and then we'll all get in position."

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It turned out that Chin was right – Malek waited until just after dark to approach the dumpster.

Kono saw him first, "Everyone be alert – I have a lone male walking across the parking lot towards the target. Confirm visual."

She got three confirmations.

"Wait until he lifts the dumpster lid," Steve instructed. They had to be careful, they had three sides covered but there was no one behind the suspect. Having Kono take him down with a shot was a last resort.

Malek approached the dumpster confidently. He carried a small bag. Anyone watching would have thought he was taking out a bag of trash.

As he lifted the dumpster lid, Steve shouted, "Go!" and leaped from the second floor window. He landed on the dumpster, slamming the lid down on Malek's hands. The man yelled in pain. Metal doors slammed into brick as Danny and Chin raced across the parking lot. For one moment, it seemed as if everything would go perfectly.

Then a gunshot rang out and a bullet penetrated the dumpster next to Steve with a loud metal clang. The former SEAL slid backwards, falling down into the cover behind the dumpster. Chin dove behind a nearby car, scanning the parking lot for the shooter. Danny found shelter behind the hedge that separated the parking lot form the sidewalk.

Malek wavered uncertainly for a moment before turning back to the dumpster, determined to complete his task.

"Kono, do you have eyes on the shooter?" Steve demanded.

"I don't see him," Kono was scanning frantically but couldn't see anyone, "Do you want me take down Malek?"

"Negative, keep looking for the shooter. I'll flush him out," Steve ordered.

"What does that mean?" Danny yelled over the headset, "That had better not mean what I think it does."

Steve came out from around the side of the dumpster and dove at Malek. Another shot rang out, catching him in the vest and throwing him into the dumpster.

"I see the shooter!" Kono yelled. Her shot found its target and the man went down.

Malek lost his nerve and tried to run. Danny took off after him, tackling him easily. Chin raced over the check on Steve.

Kono called HPD for backup and an ambulance. By the time they arrived, she had determined that the second Himaya was dead. Danny had Malek handcuffed and ready for HPD to book. Chin was trying to convince Steve to stay down until the EMT's could look him over. Predictably, Steve was ignoring him.

A short time later, Danny fingered the bullet lodged in Steve's discarded vest, "You're sure you don't need to go to the hospital?"

"Leave it alone, Danny. I'm fine," Steve waved a hand dismissively, "I could tell from the first shot that the bullets weren't high enough caliber to penetrate the vest."

"You are not fine," Danny told him, walking away towards the dumpster.

Chin came up on Steve's other side, "I checked with the lab. They still haven't been able to get anything off the microSD."

Steve pulled out his own phone, frowning as he checked, "No one's gotten back to me about the fingerprints either."

"Danny, what are you doing?" Kono demanded. The other two men turned towards her voice and found Danny halfway in the dumpster.

"What the hell, Danny?" Steve grabbed his partner's waist to keep the smaller man from tumbling in and yanked him out.

"It's not in there," Danny complained.

"There's nothing in there but a few bags of paper shred," Chin told him, "We had the dumpster emptied this morning, just in case one of ended up in it. Don't you remember?"

"Of course I remember that," Danny replied indignantly, "That's why I should be able to find Bastet."

"Oh for the love of –" Steve grabbed one of the portable floodlights that HPD had set up on the parking lot and carried over to the dumpster, "I'll get the damn thing back for you." He shined it in the large metal box. After a few minutes, Steve actually climbed into the dumpster. "It's not in here he finally admitted."

"It has to be," Chin insisted, "We all saw you throw it in there and we've had eyes on the dumpster ever since. No one took it out." He also climbed into the dumpster and failed to locate the small black cat.

Kono patted Danny's shoulder sympathetically, "I'm sorry Danny, but I don't think we're going to find it."

A black SUV pulled into the parking lot and several men in government issue suits got out.

One approached Steve, "Commander McGarrett?"

"Yes," Steve answered warily.

"We're from Homeland Security." He offered Steve his badge and credentials. Steve gave them a cursory glance and handed them back. "We're here to take custody of Malek."

"Why is that?" Steve asked.

"I'm afraid that's classified, Commander. We've also taken the microSD card that you were trying to analyze. It also contains classified information." The other two men were already loading Malek into their SUV. Within minutes they were gone.

"What are you doing?" Danny asked, "You're just going to let them do this?"

"Danny, do you remember all those times I've told you that something was classified? Well sometimes that's the answer I have to live with." Steve shrugged, "I don't have to like it but I have to accept it."

"On the plus side, we don't have to do the paperwork now," Kono pointed out as they headed across the parking lot towards their own office.

H50****H50****H50**** H50****H50****H50**** H50****H50****H50****H50

It was a few hours later that Steve pulled into his own driveway. Rachel and Stan were away and had invited Danny to stay at their house with Grace while they were gone, so for the first time in days, Steve was alone.

He was just about to step inside when movement from the corner of the porch caught his eye. A tiny black kitten looked back at him.

"Where did you come from?" Steve asked, bending over to pet the tiny head. The small creature tried to brush past him into the house, "Whoa, you're not doing that. You need to go back where you came from."

Steve went inside, making sure that the kitten didn't get in. He made himself dinner and settled in to watch some TV. Glancing over at the front window, he found two green pin pricks watching him. For a minute, Steve considered getting a bowl of water and maybe some of the sliced turkey he had in the fridge, but he brushed the idea aside. If he fed it, the animal would never leave.

Turning off the TV 2 hours later, Steve stretched and prepared to head off to bed. The kitten was still watching him from the window.

How did such a tiny kitten get onto his porch? Steve wondered. It didn't really seem big enough to be away from its mother. Would it be okay outside all night?

Feeling the inevitability of it, Steve opened the front door and let the kitten walk past him, into the house. He could already imagine what Danny would have to say tomorrow when Steve told him that they had to stop a pet supply store.


End file.
